Airbus Helicopters Flightlab to Test UAM Technologies Written 25 January 2021
Artist’s rendition of an Urban Air Mobility environment | NASA
Aviation International News reported that Airbus Helicopters “started in-flight tests onboard the European aerospace group’s rotary-wing Flightlab facility.” The Flightlab facility is “exclusively dedicated to maturing new technologies for the company’s current helicopters and future fixed-wing and eVTOL aircraft designs,” and “will be used to test hybrid and electric propulsion, autonomy, noise reduction, and improved maintenance and safety technologies.” Noise reduction flight tests began in April 2020 and “focused on buildings’ impact on people’s sound perception with a view toward applying the data to sound modeling and regulation of urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft.” In December, flights “concentrated on evaluating the rotor strike alerting system.” Other tests that will be conducted this year include a dedicated health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) for light helicopters, a camera image-detection solution to enable low-altitude navigation, and an engine back-up system that provides emergency electric power in the event of turbine failure.
Full Story (Aviation International News)